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eta

1 American  
[ey-tuh, ee-tuh] / ˈeɪ tə, ˈi tə /

noun

  1. the seventh letter of the Greek alphabet (H, η).

  2. the vowel sound represented by this letter.


E.T.A. 2 American  
Or ETA

abbreviation

  1. estimated time of arrival.


ETA 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. estimated time of arrival

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ETA 2 British  
/ ˈɛtə /

acronym

  1. Euzkadi ta Askatsuna: an organization of militant Basque nationalists attempting to gain independence for the Basques, esp those ruled by Spain, until a ceasefire in 1998, by means of guerrilla warfare

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

eta 3 British  
/ ˈiːtə /

noun

  1. the seventh letter in the Greek alphabet (Η, η), a long vowel sound, transliterated as e or ē

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

eta 4 British  
/ ˈeɪtə /

noun

  1. (in Japan, formerly) a member of a class of outcasts who did menial and dirty tasks

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of eta

< Greek êta; compare Hebrew ḥeth heth

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

But other variants – eta, theta, iota – were quickly steamrolled and are now irrelevant.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 14, 2021

Status Symbol The H on the men’s clothing is the Greek letter eta.

From National Geographic

The Brookhaven experiment involved a fast-decaying subatomic particle known as an eta meson, which breaks down into three lighter particles known as pions�one with no electrical charge.

From Time Magazine Archive

The importance of those men dressed in white is clearly shown by the symbol that looks like an H, the Greek letter eta.

From National Geographic

In gold his family revelled and rolled, Himself and his wife and his sons so bold, And his daughters who sang to their harps of gold O bella eta dell' oro.

From Magnum Bonum by Yonge, Charlotte Mary